Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Goodwell, Okla.—The Aggie basketball teams took two Heartland Conference losses to St. Edward's in Monday's afternoon matchups. The Panhandle State women's team put in another strong effort, falling by only eight points (58-50) while the men's team struggled in a 96-59 defeat.

The Aggie women outmatched the Hilltoppers in two of the four periods, outshooting SEU by 13 percent in the first period and landing a whopping 70 percent of their shots in the third. However, St. Edward's came through with big plays at the boards taking 13 rebounds in the second period and 11 in the fourth, earning 15 points off second-chance shots for the game. The Toppers totaled 20 offensive boards to the Aggies' six, but the two teams were evenly matched on defense as Panhandle finished with 26 defensive rebounds to SEU's 27. Overall, the Aggies averaged 36.7 percent in shooting, and went 3-9 at three-point range and 11-14 from the line. The Hilltoppers shot 33.3 percent from the field and 3-17 beyond the arc; they went 9-11 in free throw attempts.

Darby Price fell one-point shy of reaching the game-high for scoring, adding 22 points for Panhandle on nine field goals and four-of-four free throw shots; SEU's Khiani Clark led the game with 23 points on nine field goals and went 5-7 from the line. Clark was also one rebound away from a double-double, earning another game-high at the boards with nine rebounds on the day; she also led the game in blocked shots with four of the Topper's eight blocks in the game. For the Aggies, Hannah Whitaker led the team defensively with eight rebounds and three blocked shots; Whitaker totaled eight points and one steal as well. Price and Addison Munsch each brought down six boards; and Munsch along with Denise Levine led the Aggies in assists, totaling five and six respectively. Shakera Barnes held the game-high in assists contributing nine for the Hilltoppers.

With the loss, the Aggie women fall to a 1-9 overall record and now own two losses within the league. Head Coach Charles Terry sees progress being made each week commenting, "We are starting to play together and we get better each outing. I'm very proud of how hard we play and how we've gelled as a team." The ladies will enjoy a nice break for the holidays before picking back up with Heartland play on the road starting on Dec. 31 with a New Year's Eve (Day) matchup against Rogers State at 1 p.m. The team will compete in two more road games before returning home, taking on UA-Fort Smith in Arkansas on Jan. 2 and Newman in Wichita on Jan. 7.

The men's team struggled from start to finish in their matchup against the Hilltoppers, lagging by as much as 15 points in the first half and going into halftime down by 13 (45-32). The Aggies were unable to even the score and trailed throughout the game, landing only seven shots from the field the entire second half. While St. Edward's averaged just 26.9 percent at three-point range making 7-of-26 shots on the day, Panhandle landed only two long distance shots for the game, and went 0-10 beyond the arc in the second half. For the game the Aggies shot 32.8 percent from the field and a meager 8.7 percent at long distance; SEU averaged 50 percent in shooting for the game, and went 11-14 at the line. Panhandle averaged 67.9 percent at the line, making 19-of-28 free throw shots.

Both teams finished even at the boards totaling 42 rebounds each, but the Hilltoppers won the turnover battle scoring 28 points on 16 Aggie turnovers; Panhandle only managed two points off eight SEU turnovers. The Toppers also topped the charts on inside shots, outscoring the Aggies 44-22 in the paint. Of the Aggies' 58 field goal attempts in the game, 23 came from beyond the arc.

The game's leading scorer was Tevin Lytes who put up 20 points for Panhandle, including three dunk shots in the second half and eight points in free throws. Sita Sesay was the only other Aggie to bring in double-digit numbers with 11 points. The Toppers had five players scoring double-digits, led by John Gramlich who finished with 17 points and Ethan Gilbert who had 16. At the boards Cory McKendree held the game-high with eight rebounds for St. Edward's; Devonta Brooks brought in seven rebounds for the Aggies, followed by Jace Kerr with six and Sesay with five. Lytes and Kerr also led the game in blocks with two apiece. SEU's Sean Watkins led in assists with six and Kerr led for the Aggies with four.

Panhandle State men's basketball now sits 5-6 on the season and 0-2 in conference play. Coach Jerry Olson was disappointed after the game stating, "St. Edward's had more energy and effort and really out-worked us; they played well and shot well. I felt like we got frustrated with our offense and stopped playing defense." Olson also commented on the shot selection saying, "We have guys who only go for threes and don't shoot for anything else which hurts us." Happy to have one of his key players back on the court, Olson added, "I thought Tevin played really well."

The men take on the same schedule as the women's team, with a break for the holidays followed by three conference games on the road. Both teams return to the Oscar Williams Field House for home court action in the New Year with games on Jan. 12 against Lubbock Christian starting at 5:30 p.m. with the women; the men are set to tip off at 7:30 p.m. Safe travels and happy holidays to Panhandle State Basketball and the entire Aggie Family!